Italian Food » Typical Italian Food
Italy - Tips for Eating Out
Italy is home to some of the most wonderful food and restaurants on the planet. Here, we take a look at how to avoid being daunted by the complexities of a traditional Italian menu.
One of my favourite parts of Italy is the area to the north of venice and Verona. The region, encompassing the famous lakes of Garda and Como, also has some of the finest restaurants in Europe.
I remember visiting Italy for the first time and looking forward to a meal in one of the region's famous restaurants. On sitting down in a typical trattoria (a slightly less formal Italian restaurant), I found myself somewhat overwhelmed when presented with the menu.
For those of you who have not travelled in Italy, let me enlighten you: a traditional Italian menu looks very confusing!
The first thing that you notice is that there just seem to be so many options! Many restaurant menus have five different sections - you are being presented with a plethora of options!
Fortunately you don't have to select something from every section of the menu, although many Italian families do like to make a real event of eating out.
The key is to only choose as much as you think you'll be able to eat - if you don't want to select something from each section then don't do so!
I would generally opt for a first course, possibly of rissotto (a rice based dish that northern Italian restaurants specialise in) and then go for a meat-based secondo (second course), with a side dish.
Mention of a side dish reminds me that most restaurants don't serve potatoes, vegetables or salad with a meat dish as standard - you'll need to ask for it as a separate side dish.
I'd find that opting for the first course, second course and side dish would be just right - maybe leaving room for a dessert if you have a sweet tooth.
Most importantly, make sure that you enjoy the whole experience of dining out in Italy.
Keith Barrett has written more about the various courses served in Italian restaurants in his article on Garda restaurants, produced as part of his work as a travel writer. This article may be used by any website publisher, though this resource box must always be included in full.
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